Pre drawing For Your Painting

Pre drawing for your painting will help you to really see the subject better, and will embed it more solidly into your brain. Then when you go to the studio to paint, it will enable you to define the subject more accurately so that you will be painting with more knowledge. Thus allowing the picture to grow in it’s own way. Outdoors, we are working against time and the ever changing landscape. Indoors, we have more time to study our sketches and think things out.

Being able to draw can enhance your painting experience. Through drawing you will gain the experience to judge sizes, proportions and the placement of the various objects.

It is so easy to just take a photo of a particular subject. However, pre drawing for your painting will help you to see the subject better. You may begin to notice detail that you might possibly overlook with just a photo. Now, a photo can be your guide to colors and values. So, pre drawing for your painting is always good to do, whenever you can.

Drawing is largely a matter of observation and practice. Sometimes it is a good idea to go outdoors with just your sketch pad to only draw, and not paint. In this circumstance, if a drawing does not seem to look right, you can always scrap it and start over. most often, redrawing a subject will cause it to turn out better. Of course, you can use an eraser to make some corrections on the drawing. Bottom line: If a subject interest you, draw it, whether it makes a picture or not. You may be able to incorporate it into a painting at a later date.

When going to the site to sketch or draw, you might try to have a large pad and a smaller pad. The large pad for depicting and arranging the whole composition. And the smaller pad for recording the various details. Not totally necessary, but if you have the need to define greater detail in a specific area, that is where the smaller pad, if you have one, comes in handy. You can also, just put the details on another page. The important thing is getting the overall perception of what we are trying to depict, plus any details that you may think are important.

What to Draw With

There are many different drawing utensils; pencil, charcoal, crayon, pastels, pen and ink, ball point pen, felt tip pen and brushes. Most artist will use pencil. It seems to be the easiest and most convenient.

Pencils are graded according to their hardness. They run from 5h (the hardest), through the H’s down to HB, and then from B to 8B (the softest). You really do not have to go out and purchase a complete set of drawing pencils. A number 2 writing pencil can do for a start. If you want to make darker impressions, then try one or more of the softer pencils.

For drawing and sketching, I find that an 8 by 10 inch pad to be a convenient size. I also carry a smaller 6 by 8 or 5 by 7 as well. For pencils I’ll use a number 2B, plus a 4B and a 6B, I also use a kneadable eraser for making corrections. A can of workable fixative can be used to prevent your drawing from becoming smudged.